Quotation
The Happiness of Being
The Happiness of Being
If science is your religion, I am happy to report that it seems to be heading in the right direction. At the very least, some studies are finding evidence of "spirits in the material world."
Take, for instance, George Vaillant, M.D., who has curated the Grant Study for more than 40 years. He's said that humans are hard-wired for empathy. The Grant Study was established at Harvard University in the late 1930's by Dr. Arlie Bock, who began the study to learn "how to live well" by studying the lives of "normal" young men, 268 students at Harvard University.
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Philanthropy
Philanthropy - How do you want to be remembered?
Being from Massachusetts, and living on Cape Cod for some years, the Kennedy family was always a presence. They represented some of the highest good and deepest tragedies of our time. Ted Kennedy held his family together and maintained a force for good in politics through it all. Some point out his flaws, but most of us would be hard pressed to endure and maintain his sense of responsibility through all those years. He gave "stay the course" real meaning. Yes! I want to Read the rest of this post ...
John Greenwell - Last Words
John Greenwell - Last Words
John Greenwell came to middle Tennessee in 1977. He'd heard of a community being formed. A hippie commune was breaking up and two of the former members were forming a new community on the land. It was 230 acres with a pre-civil war log cabin as the hub. The idea was to have a working farm around the concept of a land sanctuary. There was a large barn, a tree house, a yurt, an outhouse with two seats. There were goats, chickens, a garden, and a field for growing trade produce. Water was carried from a spring. Bathing was done at the head of the garden. A walk in one direction would lead to a waterfall. In the other direction, there was a small stone house by a creek that could be used for meditation; it was also sometimes used as a sweat lodge.
John liked the idea of being around a community. He was a veteran of the Vietnam war and he wanted to live in a rural area, an area that was quiet, an area that wouldn't remind him of helicopters over head. The community was about 10 miles from the nearest paved road. He came back in 1978 and bought neighboring land. It was land with the only other pre-civil war cabin on it. Yes! I want to Read the rest of this post ...
V-Day 2010
V-Day 2010
Over the course of the first year I was in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, I'd become friends with an elderly couple. I say elderly because the woman was in her mid-seventies and the man was 83 at the time. They would acknowledge their age, but would never consider themselves elderly because the word connotes someone frail. These two were quite active - and quite demanding actually, taking advantage of every assistance that came their way. The woman would say, "Grab a bear when it's coming at you; when it's passed you by, it's a greased pig." So, that's the way it was. In some ways, I was just a pawn in their game. But we had become endeared to each other.
They were different from each other and had married only in the last five years. Survivor wins all the other's assets was the way they'd arranged it. The woman was all business. The man played along, but he once loved to see plays. He loved movies also, and recalled, in his story telling, many scenes from old movies. He would occasionally see movies on an old VHS player, but he hadn't been to a play in years because his wife wouldn't allow herself to enjoy plays and he had given up trying to get her to go along.
In the second year of our friendship, it came to my attention that there would be a presentation of The Vagina Monologues in the city. I did not actually know the contents of the play, but I knew it was a long running and often recognized as ground-breaking. I knew that old Jim would enjoy it. But I had to work it for him. Work it so that the old lady would come along and feel either that it was all for her, or that she was somehow doing it for her husband. After some time, we made a plan to go. There were no excuses available, but, at the last minute, she almost refused to go because she didn't know where we would to park.
Alas, we made it. They had me sit between them. And there it was. The language, even I wasn't prepared for. The old man got a kick out of it. Then I knew why I was between them. Old Jim was grinning and snorting through the production. The old woman squirmed a bit, but I think the she identified with some of it. She would not admit to any such thing though. On the way out of the theater, she said, "What if men had to talk about their private parts that way?"
I think it was the best thing I'd done with them over the two years I was around. I did see them once another year later and the woman had stopped dying her hair a sort of dull ginger color and radiated in silver white.
~ Further ~
- The brilliant Eve Ensler in her 2010 TED Talk video
- Links related to this post
- video of old Jim in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
ACIM Speaks - An Inspired Speech
ACIM Speaks - An Inspired Speech
Ted Kennedy's 1968 eulogy for his brother
- A Course in Miracles
Listen below or
Download now or listen on posterous
Also Available on iTunes
This podcast episode contains the speech given by Ted Kennedy as part
of his eulogy for his brother, Robert. The main part of the speech was
given by Robert in South Africa in 1966. I believe it is an inspired
speech, as worthy of listening to today as it was pertinent when it
was given over 40 years ago. Below is my transcription of the speech.
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